People enjoy ice skating for many different reasons. Some people enjoy recreational skating, while others like to figure skate or play the sport of ice hockey. Regardless of the reason for skating, however, all ice skates have a blade or “runner” functioning as the sole interface between the skater and the ice surface. Additionally, all runners are “profiled” or “contoured,” as well as sharpened. The profiling process alters the shape of a runner and defines how much of the runner is in contact with the ice. The sharpening process creates a concave “hollow” along the bottom surface of the runner by grinding metal off the runner. Creating the hollow sharpens the inside and outside edges of the runner.
Conventional systems are only able to sharpen the middle portion of a runner. They are not configured to profile and sharpen substantially the entire length of the runner at the same time.